Fujitsu expects to miss PC sales goal on sluggish Europe demand

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TOKYO Dec 27 (Reuters) - Fujitsu Ltd is likely to
miss its personal computer sales target this year due to
sluggish demand in crisis-hit Europe as well as a backlash
against Japanese products over regional tensions with China.

Fujitsu president Masami Yamamoto told reporters the firm,
which makes micro chips, smartphones and computers, was likely
to miss its target to sell 7 million PCs this fiscal year to
March, predicting sales of between 6 and 7 million.

Yamomoto also said the launch of Microsoft Corp's
latest Windows 8 operating system was not reviving sales of
devices as it had previously hoped.

The company, Japan's largest IT service provider, cut its
full-year operating profit outlook by 5 percent to 100 billion
yen ($1.2 billion) in October, citing reduced sales of
electronic products and chips and a decline in orders in Europe.

The division that makes cellphones and PCs made up 24.3
percent of Fujitsu's overall sales last year.

The executive also said Fujitsu would unveil a restructuring
plan for its semiconductor business in March. Sources have
previously said that Fujitsu has held talks to sell its main
semiconductor plant in western Japan to Taiwan Semiconductor
Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world's largest contract
chipmaker.

Facing sky-high costs of upgrading infrastructure and price
pressure from the likes of Samsung Electronics Co Ltd
, Japanese chipmakers are scrambling to outsource
production and restructure loss-making businesses.

Renesas Electronics Corp, the world's No. 1 maker
of microcontroller chips used in vehicles, was bailed out by a
taxpayer-backed fund. Domestic media said earlier this year that
Fujitsu, Panasonic Corp and Renesas were in talks to
merge their struggling system LSI chip divisions.